Westford shutout by Chelmsford, 42-0

Westford Academy has done itself few favors with its pre-league schedule.

The Grey Ghosts have so far found it tough going with two losses against deeper, physical teams, including a dominant 42-0 performance by Chelmsford High on its own Alumni Field on Sept. 15.

"We did some things pretty good, but there were also some things we need to fix," Westford coach Pat Gendron said. "We’re working on them Monday. We need to keep the needle moving in the right direction."

The Grey Ghosts, fighting some depth problems, also have suffered a host of injuries. However, Westford can see some light on the horizon with its first home game against struggling Haverhill.

The Hillies (0-2) were defeated by North Andover, 20-0.

"Yes, yes," Gendron said when reminded of the home game. "That’s exciting. Absolutely."

As for the walking wounded, "It's always the next man up mentality," he said. "It's our team philosophy. You got to know what youre doing on the field an be ready to go 100 miles per hour when you're out there.

"We fixed some stuff from last week. We just got to keep hustling. We made some physical and mental mistakes. It's a long process."

Chelmsford running back Sal Lupoli ran for four touchdowns as the Lions rolled to a 33-0 halftime lead.

Lupoli, who rushed for 126 total yards, gain 98 of them in the first two quarters. Chelmsford quarterback Matt Hooton completed six of 11 passes for 119 yards and a score.

Meanwhile, the Grey Ghosts (0-2) were held to a negative yard in the first half. Overall, Westford also gave up a pair of safeties, including a botched punt snap.

Westford quarterback Cam Barisano completed his first pass, a 31-yard rainbow to Scott Beattie, which gave the Ghosts their first and only first down in the opening half.

After that, Westford’s pass attack was off target as pressure was placed on Barisano by Chelmsford linebacker Joe Vecchione, who has three sacks in the first half, Brendon Pok and Jack Slattery.

Westford’s best play, a 47-yard run by Chelmsford opened the scoring run by Tyler Bella came late in the third quarter.

Lupoli opened the scoring with a 21-yard run with 3 minutes, 15 seconds remaining in the first quarter, highlighted by a couple broken tackles and a sprint to the end zone.

Less than a minute later, Westford was called for intentional grounding in the end zone for a safety and a 9-0 lead.

Lupoli opened the lead to 16-0 with a 1-yard plunge one play into the second quarter. A dropped punt snap gave the Lions possession on the WA 16. But the Grey Ghosts held and CHS kicker Kevin Hennessey, perfect on his five point-after kicks, booted a 30-yard field goal with 8:51 to play in the half.

Lupoli added scores with 2:56 remaining in the half and inside of a minute for a 33-0 lead.